Panorama @ Randall’s Island Park

MANHATTAN, NY—AEG Live, the promoter behind Coachella, assembled a lineup of 62 artists for the first-ever Panorama festival on Randall’s Island Park on July 22-24, 2016. Arcade Fire, Kendrick Lamar, and LCD Soundsystem headlined the festival’s Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively. The National, Sufjan Stevens, Sia, A$AP Rocky, Run The Jewels, the Alabama Shakes, Grace Potter and Major Lazer were also among the better known supporting artists. Three-day passes went on sale in March for general admission at $369, and VIP at $769.

AEG Live settled on the Randall’s Island site after the New York City Parks Department denied a permit for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. Panorama came less than two months after the Governors Ball festival at the same location. The Electric Zoo Festival also will return to Randall’s Island over Labor Day weekend.

Panorama was a unique music festival experience. In addition to two live music stages and a smaller stage for electronic or DJ sets, the area in between the stages included several air-conditioned spaces featuring high-tech music-based installations. The Lab was a playground of seven interactive art, music and technology installations and a massive 360-degree planetarium-styled theater. Despacio featured a sound system designed by James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem, DFA) and David and Stephen Dewaele (Soulwax/2manydjs) with recording engineer John Klett, delivering nearly 50,000 watts of power through seven stacks of customized McIntosh amplifiers each standing 11 feet tall. More impressively, the area between the stages featured many upscale food kiosks, cooling stations and elegant air-conditioned bathroom trucks rather than portable toilets.